Survivors
by UNrequitedAmbitions
Summary: Persephone Potter. Daughter of Lily and James Potter. The chosen one. The girl who lived. Her story.
1. Candidate?

**A/N: **Okay, so this is basically my old version of Survivor, but totally redone. I guess you could look at that as like a prequel to this story. I know you were probably expecting an update on the old one, but i realized that starting in the first year was inpractical and would have taken forever to get to the actual plot. Some things might change from the original story, but you can expect it to be pretty much the same. And i will have updates out faster because restarting this in a different way has definitely shown me that this story CAN go somewhere, just not from where it was in the other version.

Anyway, let me know if you like this better, and I will definitely continue with it. I have a very good idea of what i want to do :)

Enjoy!

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"Mrs. Potter!" The shrill voice of Professor McGonagall spliced through my day dreaming, causing me to snap up and look towards the front of the class.

"Yes Ma'am?" I questioned steadily, my expression neutral.

"I asked you, _five times_- what is the incantation for vanishing an object?" She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at me through her square spectacles.

"Evanesco, Professor." I replied, starring steadily into her disapproving eyes.

"Correct." She nodded stiffly and turned her back on the class again to write something on the black board about vanishing spells.

"What was that all about?" I heard a whisper to my left and glared at the person next to me.

"I just spaced out for a second, Draco." I kept my voice low, not wanting to give McGonagall another reason to yell at me today. She'd probably give me another detention. She wasn't spare with those, especially with me.

Draco clicked his tongue in fake disappointment. "You're just so determined to prove everyone right, aren't you Seph?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" My voice raised the slightest and my eyes flickered quickly to the front to make sure McGonagall hadn't heard. She was still droning on about the vanishing spell, back turned to the class.

"They all wanted you to be their hero," he replied, making it sound like the most obvious observation ever. "And you're turning into the next candidate."

"Candidate for what?" I hissed, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"The next Dark Lord." He smirked and leaned away just as McGonagall turned back around.

I scowled to myself and picked up my quill, swiftly jotting down all of the notes she had written down. What did Draco Malfoy know? These people never wanted anything from me, they've never expected anything. Why _should _I do anything for them? Especially people like McGonagall. She hated me on principal, with no specific reason other than me being in Slytherin and her being the head of Gryffindor. Even so, I hardly ever did a thing wrong, except when Draco drug me a long for some elaborate scheme. I got excellent marks in her class, which she seemed to detest, and I swear she switched all the questions on my tests to more advanced ones to try and fail me. And people wonder why I favor Severus. At least he treats me like a respectable person and not some Death Eater in training.

I realized I had been spacing out again as the bell rang, signaling the end of class. I gathered my books and walked out with Draco, trying to get my mind off of McGonagall.

"I'm starving!" Draco exclaimed, nearly running down the stairs.

"Well then you're lucky it's lunch time." I stated, smiling slightly at my best friend as he shoved a first year out of the way and then was immediately shoved back by a seventh year. I caught him by the shoulder as he sneered at the older teen.

"I suppose so," he replied. "But that also means we have Defense Against the Dark Arts soon."

My brows furrowed in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten, Seph!" He rolled his eyes and punched me lightly in the shoulder. "We've got that new, sickly looking teacher, what's his name?" He looked towards the ceiling in thought.

The first night back at the castle came back to me and I remembered Dumbledore's speech. "Lupin. Remus Lupin." I supplied and he nodded.

"Yeah, that's the one," we wove expertly around the large crowd of students as we made our way to the Great Hall. "He doesn't seem like much fun. And my dad told me he's a blood traitor." He pulled a face of disgust, but I had known him long enough to determine that it wasn't quite genuine. I'm sure he could tell my distaste for 'mudbloods' was authentic either, but that was one of those things that you didn't speak about. If you knew, you should never tell. It was the most secret of our secrets, not even spoken between us.

"Well, I'm sure he'll be horrible." I declared, smiling playfully at Draco as he laughed.

"Yes, for sure. And if he's not, we'll make him so." I laughed happily as we stepped into the Great Hall and made our way to the Slytherin table on the far right. I scanned the teacher's table, seeing Lupin sitting in Lockhart's old spot, looking pale and sickly. If anything, he had to be better than that egotistical loon. Lockhart had been fired after I had researched some of his works, curious about all of his 'accomplishments', and finding something about all of the elaborate tales mentioned to be off. Especially after he set those pixies on us and ran away, not even able to control them. Anyway, some of the timelines in his books didn't match up quite right and I took the matter to Severus, who managed to slip him a Veritiserum. Needless to say, he spilled the truth about how he stole the stories from much braver witches and wizards and was immediately let off, much to the disappointment of some of the sillier girls here.

"Ahh, turkey!" Draco's eyes lit up at the sight of a turkey sandwich among the food at our table and I rolled my eyes.

I pulled out a long roll of parchment as we sat down and extracted a quill from behind my ear.

"You're not going to do homework _now_ are you?" Draco whined at the sight of my supplies. "It's only the first day of classes!"

"And yet we already have homework. I don't want to get behind like you, Draco." I declared as I dipped my quill in my special red ink that corrected any mistakes automatically.

"You are such a nerd." He stated as he ate nearly half his sandwich in one bite.

"You're just a slacker," I accused, scratching something down as I grabbed for a roll from the nearest basket. "And for heavens sake, think of your manners," I snapped, looking pointedly at his full mouth. "What would Narcissa say?"

"Who cares? My mother doesn't get to tell me what to do at school." He replied, taking another huge bite for emphasis. "Besides, you know she'd be telling you not to work so hard."

I smiled to myself and rolled up my half-written paper. "You're right, no more homework for now."

"Let's not do any homework at all today," Draco proposed. "And after classes we'll just go out by the lake."

"A day of skipping homework?" I looked at him with fake shock.

"Yeah, why not?" He implored. "It is just the first day. And half the stuff we've gotten isn't due for two days."

I thought about it for a second before nodding. "Alright, sounds good to me."

"I knew you'd agree." Draco smiled and I didn't doubt him. He tends to get the way I think better than I do. He must have figured that I wasn't really in the mood for homework anyways.

"Hey," Draco started, suddenly becoming very interested in his late bite of sandwich. "Did you get your aunt and uncle to sign that Hogsmead permission slip?"

"Yeah, no problem." I replied, laughing at his shocked expression.

"Seriously? When you owled me it sounded like there was no way." He stated, letting his bit of sandwich drop onto his plate, forgotten.

"Well, I'm a Slytherin," I declared, looking proud. "And if anything I pride myself on manipulation."

He smirked crookedly at me and punched me in the shoulder. "And that's why you're my best friend."

People were beginning to trickle out of the Hall, so I gathered my books from the table and motioned for Draco to do the same before standing up.

"Off to DADA." I smirked, grabbing an apple off the table before heading out of the Hall and up the grand staircase.

"Oh, joy." Draco rolled his eyes. I knew he was just kidding around; defense against the dark arts was actually one of his favorite classes. I was pretty sure he was more interested against the dark arts part, but so was I. I just hoped they had managed to find someone who wasn't completely off their rocker for the job this time.

"Hey, do you know when Quidditch tryouts are yet?" I inquired casually as we made our way up our third flight of stairs.

"No, I'll have to talk to the new captain- I think it's Rambini," he thought to himself as I munched on my apple. "Why, you thinkin' about trying out this year?" He suddenly asked, looking hopeful.

"Probably not," I replied, watching his optimistic expression fade. "I just wanted to make sure I was there to cheer you on."

Draco scoffed. "More like cheer Blaise on, right?" He glared at nothing in particular as we made our way down a long, dimly lit hall.

I burst a short shout of laughter, making it echo down the corridor. "Blaise Zabini?" I clarified, trying hard to control myself from laughing hysterically.

"Yes, Blaise Zabini," Draco replied stiffly, not looking amused. "He has quite the thing for you, you know?"

"No," I burst out, snickering loudly. "No I didn't know that."

"Stop laughing like a fool." He suddenly demanded, stopping dead in the hall.

"Why?" I questioned, but stopped nonetheless.

"Because there is no way you didn't know that he likes you," Draco smiled himself now. "He practically throws himself on you whenever he can. You are the thickest person I have ever met, Seph!" He declared, laughing loudly. He began walking again and I followed.

"I am not." I replied, but it fell on deaf ears as he continued laughing to himself. Was it true that Blaise liked me? I guess I just never really paid attention to that kind of thing like Pansy did. She was always trying to analyze every little thing a guy said to her, like they talk in code or something. But Draco was a hypocrite for calling me thick, since he has yet to realize that Pansy has liked him since first year. She told me in confidence though, and I didn't plan on putting myself on Pansy's bad side anytime soon, so I didn't bring it up.

"Here we are." Draco mumbled to himself after he'd stopped laughing and we stopped in front of a large, wooden door.

"Well, go on then." I motioned for him to open the door and he stepped in ahead of me, holding the door.

We seemed to be pretty early- there were only about five other students in the class so far. Three were Gryffindors, sitting on the right side and the other two were Slytherins, sitting as far left from them as they could. Draco and I sat at a table in front of the two Slytherins, at the front of the class.

"Hello!" A cheerful voice called and I looked up to see Professor Lupin stepping out from the door that led to his office. He looked even paler and shabbier up close, with patched up robes on and a distinctly second-hand briefcase. I hoped he wouldn't keel over before the end of the year. "I'm-"

"Professor Lupin." I supplied for him and his eyes shot to me, widening almost comically for a moment before he smiled, slightly nervously.

"You are correct, Mrs.?" He asked and I could feel the strange looks he was getting from the few students in the classroom, even the few more that were starting to walk in.

"Uh, Potter, Sir," I replied, looking at him somewhat incredulously. "Persephone Potter."

"Ah, right," he blushed slightly as he stood in front of his black board. "You look so…" He mumbled to himself, so quietly that I almost didn't hear over the rapid crescendo of student's voices as they entered the room.

"Weird." I whispered to myself. Draco glanced over at me.

"What?" He asked, pulling out his new DADA book. I did the same as I shook my head.

"Nothing." Draco shrugged and turned his attention back to the Professor as everyone was finally in the class and seated.

"Everyone can go ahead and put their textbooks away, we won't be using them today." Lupin smiled at the elated looks on our faces.

I closed my book and looked at Draco with amusement. He shook his head back, smiling slightly. Lupin took us down to a room where he had some sort of animal caged in some sort of a tank. He talked about the creature all hour as it made faces at us and beat uselessly against the glass encasing it. He also taught us an incantation to use if we even encounter a creature like it. All in all, it was one of the best classes I've ever had in my three years at Hogwarts.

As the end of class was drawing near, Lupin led us back up to his classroom so we could gather our books. Draco and I were silent as the bell rang and we left the classroom with a group of students. It wasn't until we had made it to one of our secret passageways to Charms that we started to talk.

"Well, that was…" Draco started, looking reluctant to say anything until I had spoken first.

"Incredibly enjoyable?" I supplied, smiling cautiously at him. We both understood how this sort of thing worked. Lupin was a person that neither of us should like, considering his social status as a blood traitor. We had both basically broken an unwritten rule of the Slytherin house, and, though I hate to admit it, I felt kind of bad. I knew Draco did too; his face was riddled with worry and anxiety.

I took a deep breathe before continuing. "But did you see his clothes? It looks like he could barely afford to hire Madam Malkin to tailor his robes."

Draco smiled, though it wasn't a true one. "Well obviously he can't. Didn't you see all the homemade stitching in them? That was definitely his own handiwork."

And that's the way it was. Even in private we couldn't be honest with the rest of the world, even if we were really being honest with each other. This made it easier, though, to poke fun of the man. We both knew what the other truly thought, so it wasn't really vindictive. Just playing the role.

Soon we were in charms class, listening to Flitwick's squeaky voice tell us all about what we would be covering this year. Charms had always been my easiest subject, so I didn't listen too much of what the Professor had to say. I instead spent the hour making a paper airplane fly with Draco and seeing who would mess up and let it hit the ground first.

The hour after Draco and I didn't have class together. He had Arithmancy while I had Astrology- all the way up in the North tower. I wasn't entirely pleased to discover that I there were no Slytherins in this class that I was friends with. There actually wasn't many Slytherins in the class at all- mostly Gryffindors. I recognized a few of the Gryffindors, but I didn't know any of their names. I had no idea where to sit, and ended up behind a frizzy haired Gryffindor girl and red-headed boy. This was definitely going to be my least favorite class of the year, since I'd probably spend it virtually alone with no one to talk to. Or maybe that would be a good thing since I wouldn't have Draco whispering in my ear, distracting me from my work.

Classes were over for the day after a long, boring class of reviewing some of what we did last year and what we would be covering the first half of this year. I almost fell asleep halfway through, but the Professor made sure to call me out, and that kept me awake the rest of the hour.

I met Draco in the Great Hall, sitting in our usual spot at the Slytherin table.

"You look beat." Draco observed as I sat down, grabbing some chicken and a piece of bread.

"I am. Astrology class is going to be awful this year." I explained as he poured me a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Why's that?" He inquired, looking interestedly at me. One thing I admired about Draco- he would really listen to you when he sensed that you needed it.

"I don't know anyone in the class, and it's mainly Gryffindors." I rested my face in my palm as I took a bite of my chicken and swallowed it down with my pumpkin juice.

"Damned Gryffindors." Draco glared across the room at their table and I chuckled a little.

"How was Arithmancy?" I asked, sitting up a bit and stabbing my food with my fork.

"Uneventful." He shrugged, and then looked up at me. "Probably about the same as your Astrology class. Though Crabbe and Goyle are in it."

"Well then, at least you have some friends." I pointed out, chewing my food slowly.

"Yeah, but they're not exactly the friends I'd choose to have." He explained, looking pointedly at me.

I laughed loudly and he looked confusedly at me. "We need more friends." I stated and he cracked a smile.

"Nah," he replied. "If I needed more friends, I'd have them. I think we're fine the way we are."

"People probably think we're very anti-social, stuck up people." I glanced around our table to find that not many people were still left there. I must have showed up later than I thought for dinner.

"No," Draco shook his head, disagreeing. "We're also friends with Pansy and Milicent and Blaise." He shot me a sideways glance at the last name, but I ignored it.

"Yeah, they're all okay." I conceded.

"See?" He crossed his arms and gave me an 'I told you so' look.

"Alright, whatever." I replied, rolling my eyes. "Are you done?" I nodded towards his plate.

"Yeah. Let's go to the lake." We both got up and made our way outside, past our four large hourglasses that kept track of house points. It was plain that Gryffindor was already in the lead, but we weren't far behind.

Draco led me down to the lake side, and we sat cross-legged on the grass. I was afraid that Filch would come out soon and yell at us for being on the grounds past curfew, but Draco pointed out that it couldn't be much past seven and we weren't supposed to be in our dorms until eight. I let his reasoning relax me, if only for this one time, and laid back to look at the sky. It was slowly darkening, and the heavens were ablaze with a fiery orange that steadily bled into the dark blue of night.

We stayed out so long, not even talking, that I almost fell asleep. When Draco shook me suddenly though, we must have been out for almost two hours, I jolted up and grabbed him by the arm. I berated myself for losing track of time as I snuck us back inside and to our dorms. There was nobody left in the common room so we quickly said good-night and headed to our separate rooms.

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Don't forget to review!

And let me know if there were any mistakes, I was pretty tired when i wrote this and i will go back and fix them if it's really bad.


	2. Watching Me

**A/N: **Chapter two, everyone!! Hah, this was really fun to write so it ended up being a lot longer than I originally planned (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Sorry if there are any big mistakes, let me know and I'll be more careful next time, it's just that it's harder for me to edit the longer the chapters are.

Sooo, don't forget to review,

And thanks to all my reviewers/alert adders for last chapter

(And a big thanks to Angeena who pointed out the whole Mrs./Miss mistake to me^^ )

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It was nearly a month into the school year, and something was happening. I knew from the beginning of the year that things were going to be different at school with Dementors guarding it and all of the extra security put into place, but I never thought I wouldn't feel safe at Hogwarts.

That sensation of someone always following five steps behind you was with me wherever I went- driving me nearly insane. I tried to tell Draco, but he would only brush me off and tell me it was my imagination in overdrive. Regardless, I stopped wandering the halls at night, even under my invisibility cloak. I just didn't feel safe- for the first time in a long time. It wasn't until the first Quidditch match of the year, though- Slytherin v. Gryffindor- that something odd actually happened to give my strange bout of paranoia a cause.

Draco had to leave immediately following dinner that night, to meet with the team. I had avoided leaving for the pitch at the same time as Pansy and Milicent, since I'd have to deal with them through the entire game, so I ended up being a little late. Not that I minded, I enjoyed walking along the grounds by myself, and with everyone already at the game it would be pretty tranquil.

I walked slowly down the slope to the Quidditch Pitch, noting how the air seemed much too cold for that time of year. I almost went back to the commons rooms to grab my scarf and gloves, but decided against it since I was already running behind. I improvised by shoving my hands deep inside my jacket pockets and tucked my head down to my shoulder to keep my face warm.

I met Pansy and Milicent in the Slytherin stands, panting slightly from the long walk up and reminding myself that I should exercise more. They both were decked out in silver and green, making me feel a twinge of guilt for not trying a little harder to show my own team spirit. I was only wearing my school tie and a black coat.

"There you are, Persephone!" Pansy exclaimed as I struggled towards them through the thick crowd of people taking up the benches. She gave my outfit a once over, as she usually did, and sneered slightly at my lack of silver and green.

"Don't you love my hat?" She asked innocently, fingering the brim of it. It looked kind of like a sunhat, with elaborately embroidered silver snakes slithering through a green background. I knew she was probably trying to make me jealous, but I honestly thought it was the most hideous thing I had ever seen.

"Yes, it's lovely." I reassured her, faking a smile as I stood between her and Milicent, who remained her usual quiet self.

"What took you so long?" She suddenly asked as the crowed jeered over a goal for Gryffindor. "We're already three goals into the game. Draco knocked the ball right out of that Katie Bell's hands. You should have seen the look on his face; he really dislikes her, doesn't he?"

I smiled to myself, remembering how Draco had let it slip that he thinks the Gryffindor chaser is actually very attractive. The boy shows affection in strange ways, though Pansy clearly didn't understand that. Though, in her defense, most of the boys in our school have grown past the stage of pulling on someone's pig tails because you like them. Unlike Draco.

"Yes, he's never been quite fond of her." I yelled over the roaring students, and began busying myself with cheering so Pansy would leave me alone for a while.

Gryffindor made two more goals before Slytherin got the ball back. Nobody had been paying attention to the seekers for a while, since neither could seem to locate the Snitch. Everyone's eyes immediately trained themselves on Draco, however, when he pulled forcefully upward, taking to the sky like a rocket. None of us could see the Snitch ourselves, so we waited anxiously as the Gryffindor seeker, I think his name was Ron, chased vainly after the speeding blur.

As I watched the two race at a dangerously vertical angle, something large and black caught my eye just above the Hufflepuff stands. It was quite a distance away, but I noticed it was moving. It must have been enormous from how large it looked even this far away, and it was moving quite swiftly, too. When it came to the end of the tower I thought it was going to fall off the edge, but it simply leaped over the large gap between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw stands. I gasped softly, trying not to bring attention to myself.

The students filling the stands must have been too transfixed with the match off between the opposing teams to notice the creature bounding around on the tops of their stands, because I didn't notice anyone else's eyes wandering from the game.

I glanced briefly at Milicent and Pansy, who were watching the Seekers with bated breath, and excused myself.

"Where could you possibly be going?!" Pansy practically shrieked, keeping one eye on the seekers as I started pushing and shoving my way through the crowd.

"I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back!" I yelled over my shoulder and tried to ignore her calls of "But you're going to miss the catch!" and "I thought Draco was your 'best friend!' I could practically see her air quotes attached to the words.

I ran quickly down the stairs, almost tripping over my own feet in my haste. I glanced back every few minutes to find the unidentified mass still slinking around the tops of the stands, seeming to take no care in being sighted.

Once my feet finally hit solid ground, I paused for a moment to catch my breath before making my way to the Slytherin locker room. All of the teachers were in the stands, watching the game, so I had no trouble sneaking inside. I knew exactly where they kept their spare brooms, since Draco had brought me there several times before to celebrate after a victory. I flung the closet door open haphazardly; pulled out the first broom I wrapped my hands around, and rushed back outside.

I hesitated before mounting the beaten up, Comet 250- one of the oldest models still in existence, I now realized. I wished I would have taken the time to pick out a slightly nicer broom, but it was too late now. I kicked hard off the ground and shot up, watching the trees and stands blur into a million different colors around me. I made sure to stop just short of the top of the stand towers, so no one could see me.

I don't know why I was always so reluctant to try out for the house team, I was actually a pretty good flyer and, from practicing in Draco's backyard over the summer, I've realized I'm a decent player. I love to fly, though I never do. It's not like the Dursley's would let me bring a magical broomstick home and fly around near their house. They'd probably have a coronary if I even mentioned such a thing. Sometimes at school I would beg Draco to take me out to the pitch and fly around with me, but that was only when we both had nothing else going on, and those moments were rare.

I flew fast, hugging the curve of the house towers and keeping just below the top. The last I had seen the creature, it had been heading towards the Gryffindor tower, so I slowed down as the red and gold stripes came closer. I kicked up a bit, looking over the edge and hovering there. It was there, just sitting on the flat top of the stand and starring onto the pitch. It looked to be some kind of gigantic dog- black and scruffier than Argus Filch's face. I pulled up even further, and silently touched down on the ground.

"Hey there, fella." I spoke softly and the animal's ears perked up, before its head turned and it regarded me with cautions eyes. What a weird dog. "What are you doing all the way up here?"

It turned all the way around and hesitated for a short beat before leaping onto me. I nearly yelled out, thinking it was trying to attack me, but instead of feeling sharp teeth biting into my neck, I felt a wet, slobbery tongue.

"Whoa, whoa, okay!" I laughed as I tried to shove it off of me, but it was too large and simply pinned me down, panting heavily on my face. I reached up and scratched between its ears and it gave a satisfied purr.

"Where did you come from…?" I whispered to myself as it lay down on top of me and closed its eyes. I was glad for the warmth it was providing me, since it was as big as me and easily encased my whole body under its dark fur. I closed my eyes and curled up underneath it, almost falling asleep until a large cry of mingled joy and disappointment rose up from the crowds beneath us. The dog's massive head shot up suddenly, looking above me, and his mouth pulled back in a snarl, growling at something I couldn't see.

"What is it?" I asked stupidly, trying to crane my neck around from the ground. A piercing cold suddenly seized me and I froze, feeling overcome with a dark, ominous depression.

The dog stepped slowly off of me, baring its deadly, white teeth and pink gums. I sat up gradually, my body feeling heavy and weak, and turned around.

Hovering just a foot away from the edge of the tower was a large, hooded figure. It was taking in deep, rattling breathes as it began to drift leisurely towards me, extending the black and rotting flesh of its hand. I had never seen a Dementor before, but no one had to tell me that's what this creature was.

A moment of panic seized me as I glanced under its dark cloak to see my broom. It was hovering just over it, with no space or time to slide under and grab it. My throat let out a strangled sort of cry that died instantly in my dry mouth, never reaching the people below.

The mangy dog jumped in front of the Dementor then, taking a defensive stance with its feet stationed sturdily on the ground. It was no use though; its black hand simply snapped out and flung him to the side, nearly throwing him over the edge.

I backed up a few steps, feeling my foot hit the edge of the tower as it continued to float carelessly towards me. I felt around desperately in my pockets, momentarily forgetting where I had put my wand before I pulled it jerkily out of my jacket. I extended my arm all the way, the tip of my wand brushing against the fluttering material of its cloak.

"S- stupefy." I whispered hoarsely, and a jet of red light shot from the end. Relief began to creep up my spine before retreating completely as I watched the light encase the creature and then simple dissipate, leaving it utterly unharmed.

I let my hand fall to my side and closed my eyes as I felt the Dementor's rotten breathe ghost over my face. I allowed my tensed body to relax, still trying to come up with some kind of plan. I felt its long finger nails scratch my neck and I squinted one eye open, just in time to see a flash of black fur and feel my body being shoved over the small threshold. My eyes snapped open as I felt freezing air rushing all around me, and watched the dog lean over the tower, watching me fall with concerned eyes that were much too expressive for a dog.

I closed my eyes again, bracing myself for the harsh impact of my body against the wooden benches, but when it happened, it felt a lot softer than I imagined. Must be some illusion your brain sends out to mask the pain.

"Persephone!" Someone was calling my name, right in my face. I felt a warm body enveloping me tightly, fingers wrapped in a death lock around my torso. "Are you okay?"

I cracked an eye open to see a person with a shock of blonde hair starring concernedly down at me. I opened both of my eyes to find that I hadn't hit the ground yet- Draco had caught me about five feet above the stands.

"Wha-" I started, lifting my head up to look down at the ground. There were a few people still in the stands and they starred at Draco and me with wide eyes, not daring to believe what they'd just seen. I heard one of them suggest that I be taken to the nurse's office and I shook my head slightly at Draco, letting him know that I didn't want to go anywhere near there. He gave me an understanding look, but seemed to be waiting for me to say something.

"You caught me!" I exclaimed, pushing my left hand firmly over my speeding heart.

"Uh, yeah." He looked away towards the ground. "I heard someone scream and saw you falling, so…" He trailed off as he flew us over the stands and landed on the grassy turf of the pitch. You'd think it would be hard for a person to carry someone bridal style while flying a broom, but Draco handled it with ease.

"Thank you, Draco." I gave him a sincere smile and hugged him tightly around his neck before he set my feet carefully onto the ground.

"Miss Potter!" I heard someone calling my name and looked around to see Professor Flitwick scampering towards us.

"What is it, Professor?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he came to a halt in front of us, panting and gasping. I threw Draco an amused look.

"I- gasp- saw- gasp- you- fall!" He exclaimed between giant gulps of air.

"Oh, yeah," I gave him a reassuring smile. "But I'm okay, Professor. Draco caught me."

He gave me a stern look as he placed his hands against his thighs to steady himself. "You should not have been up there!" He declared harshly. I don't think I had ever seen little Professor Flitwick angry before. "What were you thinking?!"

"Um," I looked down at the ground and shuffled my feet uncomfortably. "I was thinking that I could see the game better from on top of the stands, so I flew up there to sit and watch?" I ended my explanation with an inquisitive tone, feeling like it was a little weak, but Flitwick seemed to buy it.

"Don't ever let me catch you doing something like that again, or you will be expelled faster than you can say Hippogriff!" He snapped before turning on his heel and stomping away, still clutching at his sides in pain.

I continued to stare embarrassedly at the ground, until I felt Draco's hand on my shoulder. I looked up into his warm, grey eyes and he smiled, motioning towards the Slytherin locker room. I followed him as he made his way across the damp turf.

"What were you really doing up there, Persephone?" He asked quietly, head bent slightly to the side so he could look at me.

I hesitated for a moment before explaining. "I saw something walking around on the top of the stands." I pointed behind me to the tall, looming towers and Draco rose an eyebrow in incredulity. "So I flew up there and found a huge dog sitting on top of the Gryffindor stands."

"A dog?" Draco looked skeptically at me as he pushed the door to the Slytherin lockers open.

"Yeah." I nodded in affirmation, following as he came to stop in front of his locker.

"How did a dog get up on the stands? And how did you fall?" He questioned, setting his broom inside and shrugging off his Quidditch pads.

"I have no idea, and a Dementor came up there. It was trying to attack me, so I started backing away and then the dog jumped on me, pushing me over the edge." I explained.

"A Dementor came after you?" Draco clarified, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. His closed his locker door slowly.

"Yeah," I shrugged as we exited the changing rooms and found ourselves in the cold air outside again. "Dumbledore said they were guarding the school now, right? So it's not that strange that it was at the Quidditch game." I reasoned, but Draco still looked thoughtful.

"But Dementors shouldn't be attacking any person they meet. They're here for Sirius Black." Draco wrapped his arms tightly around his stomach in an attempt to stay warm- apparently I wasn't the only one to forget warmer clothes.

"Well they don't seem like the friendliest creatures to me," I pointed out, buttoning up my jacket as far as it would go. "It probably just thought it could attack me since no one else was around."

"Yeah… maybe." Draco conceded, though he didn't look that convinced. "Where did that dog come from then? I don't think anyone here has a dog."

"I don't know," I shrugged, not finding it that unusual. "Maybe it was in the forest."

Draco gave me a look; eyebrows raised high- disappearing into his hair line. "A dog couldn't survive in the Dark Forest, Persephone." He stated, like he was speaking to a small child.

"Well, I have no idea then, Draco." I snapped, growing agitated by his strange concern with a dog. "And I don't think it's that important, to be honest."

"Ooooh, what's going on here?" Pansy simpered as she came jogging towards us, looking pleased. "Trouble with the dynamic duo?" She attached herself to Draco's arm like a leech, batting her eyelashes dramatically up at him.

"No, Pansy." I huffed, not in the mood for her silly flirting with my painfully oblivious friend at the moment.

"What's the matter then?" She inquired, making sure to aim her question towards Draco.

"Nothing, Pansy." He replied, sounding just as irritated by her presence as me.

The three of us made our way into the school and through the main hallway, taking a left by the Grand Staircase to descend to the dungeons. The dungeons were my favorite part of Hogwarts. I spent a majority of my time simply wandering through them, and have discovered more than a few things that I'm pretty sure no body else knew about. It was hard to enjoy the drab beauty of our labyrinthine, underwater paradise when a certain irksome Slytherin girl was busy throwing herself onto your best friend, though.

"Oh, but Draco!" She exclaimed shrilly, squeezing his arm slightly. I had to stop myself from gagging. "The way you faked out before catching the Snitch, and how that Gryffindor stopped dead, it was just brilliant!" She beamed widely, like it was her own accomplishment.

"Yeah, thanks Pansy." Draco droned for the tenth time, trying to ignore her to the best of his ability.

When we came to the portrait I quickly mumbled the password and fled up the stairs to the girls dormitories, leaving Draco alone with the enthusiastic brunette.

I sat down on my bed and drew the curtains around it, sectioning myself off from my dorm mates. I rested against my wooden head board and closed my eyes, enjoying the dim lighting and peacefulness of my dorm. I wondered if I should let Professor Snape know what had happened tonight, and immediately resolved to go to him first thing in the morning, before breakfast.

I thought vaguely about pulling out some of my homework to work on, but the thought slipped my mind before it could be properly formed as I drifted off to sleep.

***

I woke up the next morning to my thick, green curtains being jerked open, allowing the sunlight to beat insistently against my eyes. I groaned sleepily and flipped over, trying to block it out. Apparently it was very important for this person to wake me up though, because they grabbed my shoulder and rolled me onto my back again.

"Wake up, Persephone!" They hissed, sounding anxious.

I whimpered pathetically before reluctantly squinting my eyes open. I almost snapped them closed again at seeing Pansy, silhouetted by the sun, standing over me.

"What do you want, Pansy?" I complained, not bothering to mask the irritation in my voice.

"I need your help." She nearly whined, fidgeting impatiently as she hovered over me.

Pansy Parkinson was asking for my help? I opened my eyes all the way and sat up slowly, throwing her a suspicious glance.

"With what?" I asked through a yawn as I reached up, stretching my back.

"Well," she paused, unconsciously biting her lip. "You're really close with Draco, right?" She kept looking away from me and to the floor, almost like she was embarrassed.

I scoffed and threw the covers off of me, stepping reluctantly out of my warm bed. "We've only been friends since we were eleven."

"Right," she waved her hands wildly in a dismissive manner. "I know, I know." She followed behind me like a puppy as I rifled through the trunk at the edge of my bed. She was silent for a few minutes as she simply watched me, grinding her lip between her teeth.

"So," I drew out the word, breaking her short trance. "What did you want exactly?" I rose an eyebrow at her as I pulled out a shirt and some jeans.

"Well," she looked away from me again and took a deep breathe before focusing determinedly on my face, as if it would make her appeal stronger. "Usually I'm really good at this kind of stuff and I'd never ask for your help, but Draco seems so thick and I don't think he realizes any thing at all! Could you help me…" Her voice grew with a hysterical pitch as she reached the end of her speech, faltering for the right words as she made some odd gesture in the air. "You know!" She finished lamely, sighing heavily and dropping her hands to her side.

"Help you get together with him?' I supplied as I crossed my arms over my chest, bunching up my clothes, and looked down at the floor. There was no way Draco would ever consider dating Pansy, so I almost felt bad giving her hope. On the other hand, maybe if she finally broke through to him he could let her down easy and she could move on with her life, instead of being hung up on him forever.

She gave me a sad, pleading look and I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Okay."

She smiled gratefully at me and I cringed automatically away as she started advancing closer to me, like she was going to give me a hug. Thankfully she halted and took a step back, but she didn't stop smiling.

"Thank you so much, Persephone! I have liked him for the longest time, and he just won't take a hint. You know what I mean?" She asked, her mood making a complete revolution from five minutes earlier.

"He can be pretty thick." I replied in a bored tone over my shoulder as I stepped into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving her alone in the dormitory.

I showered and changed quickly, remembering that I wanted to talk to Professor Snape before going to breakfast and wondering what time it was. There was no one else in the dormitory, so I must have sleep later than I'd anticipated, meaning I might have to wait and talk to Snape after I ate.

When I stepped out of the bathroom I found Pansy waiting for me on her bed. She smiled happily when she saw me and immediately skipped over to my side.

"So, what do I need to know?" She inquired, giving me a serious look.

"About Draco?" I clarified, glancing at her with confusion.

She nodded and I shrugged. Draco wasn't that hard to figure out, and Pansy had been friends with him for long enough. Shouldn't she already know all that she needed?

"Well, I don't know." I starred determinedly ahead as we stepped out of the common room and into the drafty hallway. "He hates treacle tart." I started, giving her an unsure look. She probably knew that already.

"Really?" She looked genuinely surprised and I nodded. "Then why does he eat it all the time?"

I laughed to myself and shook my head. "You should ask him." I suggested, thinking it would be a good way for her to get to know more about him on her own. And I kinda loved hearing him tell the story.

"Okay," she smiled to herself. "What else?"

"All of his underwear is pink." I informed, enjoying the look of startled interest on Pansy's face.

"Why?"

"I complained to him once about having to do my aunt and uncle's laundry and he told me that it was just a stupid muggle invention, and that I must be a very incompetent person to not be able to work it. So I made him try it, and he accidentally turned all of his underwear pink."

She laughed joyfully. "I've seen those machines before when I was in London! They do look complicated." She commented.

"They are." I confirmed.

"I'm so glad you're able to put him in his place sometimes, Seph." She declared suddenly and I gave her a confused look. "I mean," she continued, looking slightly embarrassed. "I feel like he has such a big head sometimes, it's nice to know that someone can knock him down a few pegs when necessary."

"Draco's very proud." I stated simply, slightly irritated that she thought Draco had a big head. That's not really him, and anyone who knew him at all could realize that.

She nodded in agreement. "Yes, I've never met someone so proud." She sounded almost admiring as she spoke, and I scowled at the floor.

"Anyways…" I trailed off as we entered the Great Hall. "Why don't you sit next to Draco today? I'll go sit by Milicent so you two can talk alone."

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Pansy exclaimed and for the second time that day I thought the girl was going to hug me. "Thank you so much, Persephone!"

I gave her a forced smile as she skipped ahead of me, taking my usual spot to the left of Draco. I watched him give a start when he went to talk to her, realizing that it wasn't me. He looked around him until he saw me making my way towards the opposite end of the table and gave me a questioning look, gesturing uneasily towards Pansy. I shrugged and mouthed the words 'she wants to talk to you,' though I'm not sure he understood me.

I slid into the open spot to Millicent's left, smiling cheerfully at the girl. "Good morning."

"Morning, Seph." She replied, not looking directly at me as she picked at her food.

"Pansy's trying to snag Draco harder than ever, huh?" I nodded towards the two and Millicent looked up in interest.

"When is she going to realize that he barely notices she exists?" Millicent nearly whispered to herself and shot me an apologetic look immediately after.

"Sorry, I-" She started, but I cut her off.

"It's okay Millicent, I know what you mean. I'm actually helping her this time," Millicent shot me an odd look before I continued. "I figure that if she can finally break through his thick skull, he'll finally be able to reject her and she can just move on."

The girl thought about what I'd said for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Okay, I see what you mean."

"Yeah." I said simply before we both fell into a comfortable silence. That was one thing I enjoyed about Millicent- you didn't have to say much. She was such a shy, quiet girl, and I knew a lot of the Gryffindors misunderstood it for haughtiness. She was actually a very amiable person, once you took the initiative to break through her naturally subdued character.

Once I was finished with breakfast I stood up and began making my way out of the hall, figuring that Snape wouldn't be done for a little while and I could get started on some of my homework before I went to talk to him. Draco must have seen me get up, because he was suddenly by my side as I made my way to the dungeons.

"Are you mad at me or something?" The question blurted immediately out, and he sounded almost depressed.

I gave him an odd look. "No. Why would I be?"

"Well," he started, becoming suddenly interested in the hem of his shirt. "You keep on avoiding me."

"I wasn't avoiding you," I reassured, placing a hand on his forearm as we walked. "I just thought that maybe Pansy wanted to talk to you. And I wanted to talk to Millicent about something."

"What could you possibly need to speak to Millicent about?" Draco gave me a skeptical look as I gave the password to the portrait and we climbed through.

"Girl stuff." I shrugged, trying to be nonchalant.

"Right," he rolled his eyes and then focused them on me again. "Did you happen to mention our treacle tart bet to Pansy at anytime?" He suddenly asked and my face broke out into an uncontrollable smile.

"Oh, did you tell her the story, then?" I grabbed him by the shoulders and hopped up and down in my joy.

"Yes," he replied, sounding annoyed. "She wouldn't shut up about it."

"I can't believe you actually thought that Dumbledore's middle name was Yurvick!" I called out, unable to contain myself any longer.

"I can't believe you followed through with making me eat my least favorite food everyday for as long as we know each other." He glared accusingly at me, but it was shortly replaced by my infectious laughter.

"Seriously, Draco? You have like a million chocolate frog cards of him!"

"Well it's not like I ever paid really close attention to them. I swear they put one in every three of those things they make." Draco rolled his eyes as we both flopped down on the couch.

I sighed and closed my eyes, letting my head fall back. "What are we doing today?"

"Whatever." I felt him shrug beside me. "It's Saturday."

"Right," I sat up and looked around the nearly deserted common room. "I have to talk to Professor Snape in a minute. I was going to cram in some homework before I went, but then you decided to follow me." I accused, poking him in the arm.

"What do you need to talk to him about?" Draco asked, scrunching up his face in disapproval.

"What's it to you?" I gave him a look and he crossed his arms defensively.

"I just feel like you're always making up reasons to go talk to Snape." He declared, looking dejected.

"He's one of the only people here I trust." I replied, placing a consoling hand on my friend's shoulder. "Hey, let's go out onto the grounds when I'm finished, okay? I don't really feel like doing any homework today."

"Really?" Draco's face lit up, making his grey eyes sparkle.

"Yeah," I nodded and stretched as I stood up. "I'll be back in a bit, okay?"

"Alright." Draco agreed and I made my way into the dungeons.

Snape's office wasn't too far from the Slytherin common rooms, and to anyone who was as used to wandering around in the dungeons as me, it wasn't that hard to find. I took the long way to day, figuring he might not be quite done with breakfast yet. It felt nice to stretch my legs for a while too, since I was so used to sitting in classes all week.

After about ten minutes, I finally found myself in front of Snape's office door. I knocked loudly on it and heard a muffled 'come in' from the other side. I opened the door and stepped inside to find that Snape wasn't alone- Professor Lupin was there with him. They were simply sitting next to the fireplace like they were old friends catching up with each other, though neither of them looked too happy. Lupin's eyebrows rose comically as he watched me walk in and he shot Snape a strange glance.

"Hello, Persephone." Snape greeted and nodded towards one of the empty armchairs. "Sit down, Remus was just leaving."

I obeyed him and sat on the large chair to his right, feeling awkward with Professor Lupin's gaze on me the whole time. I pulled nervously at the hem of my shirt as Snape stood up, pulling Lupin's attention towards him.

"That is all that you needed, isn't it?" Snape questioned and Lupin nodded, standing up and following him to his door.

"Um," Lupin shot an anxious glance at me before ducking his head close to Snape's and whispering in a low voice. I couldn't catch all that they were saying, but from the way Professor Lupin kept on looking over at me, I could take a guess.

"Thank you, Remus," Snape spoke coldly as he opened his door harshly, making it bang against the wall. "I think you should leave now."

Lupin looked reluctant to go and he stood in Snape's doorway for several seconds before sighing, shooting me an almost apologetic look, and stepping outside.

Snape shut his door forcefully and glared at it before sweeping back to the fireplace and sitting across from me.

"What was that all about?" I asked, my voice sounding very small and quiet.

"_Professor,_" he spat out the word like an earwax flavored jellybean. "Lupin needed my help with something." He waved the matter away like it was of little importance before narrowing his eyes at me. "What do you need?"

"Oh, right." I sat up a little straighter and smoothed out my shirt. "At the Quidditch game yesterday, I noticed something walking on top of the stands." Snape rose an interested eyebrow. "So I went into the Slytherin locker room and got a broomstick so I could fly up there to see what it was."

"Persephone." Snape hissed, narrowing his eyes dangerously at me.

"I know, I know, I should have asked a teacher for help." I waved a hand dismissively at him, but that only seemed to upset him further.

"Do you have any idea what's lurking around our very school grounds, even as we speak?!" His voice rose, becoming angrier by the second.

I hesitated, looking down at the ground before answering. "Uh, yeah… Dementors," I paused to sigh and glance at the ceiling. "One almost attacked me."

Snape closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them slowly, jaw clenched and hands balled into tight fists.

"You silly, _stupid_ girl." He spat, jumping up from his chair and leaning towards my face, a look of malicious anger overtaking his features.

"Well I'm _sorry_," I snapped back as I stood up, making him take a step back. "At least I was trying to do something to help! Who knows what that thing on top of the towers could have been- I didn't think about consequences, I just _acted_!"

"That's your problem." Snape pointed out, glaring down his nose at me. Though he completely towered over my meager five foot four frame, I set my jaw and met his stare with equal animosity.

"What? That I actually take action instead of cowering in the shadows like you and the rest of the people here?!" I could feel my face heating up in my anger, but I couldn't back down.

"No, that you think you alone are strong enough and smart enough to face everything! You are not _special_. And you'd do well to remember that." He smirked coldly down at me and I noticed his eyes slip below my face. I stepped instinctively backwards, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I can't help the circumstances under which I was born." I spoke softly, letting my eyes wander to the ground as Snape continued to stare at me. After what seemed like hours of unbreakable silence, I spoke again. "Listen," I started, bringing my eyes up tentatively to stare into his. "I just wanted to tell you what happened. I didn't come here to fight."

Snape gave a stiff nod and sat back down in his chair. He folded his hands neatly in his lap and looked expectantly at me.

"Uh, right," I stuttered as I fell back into my own seat. "So I flew up to the towers and there was a dog sitting up there."

"A dog?" Snape's brows furrowed together in confusion. "What kind of dog?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, but it was enormous. Scruffy too, like it was a stray or something. So I don't think it belongs to anyone here."

"What color was it?" He questioned with a whispered anxiety, scooting to the edge of his chair.

"Black." I stated simply, giving him an odd look. "Why is everyone so interested in the dog? Aren't you a little more alarmed that a Dementor almost attacked me? _And _I fell from the tower."

"How did you fall?" Snape asked, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

"The dog jumped on me; I think he was trying to… save me from the Dementor." I felt my face growing warm again, feeling he would think I was ridiculous.

He didn't say anything about it though, simply nodded. "And what happened after you fell, since I am assuming you didn't hit the ground. Or, if you did, maybe I should reevaluate my knowledge of Madam Pomfrey's medicinal skills."

I chuckled slightly. "Draco caught me."

"Of course." Snape nodded and leaned back in his chair, looking faintly disgusted. "I will let Dumbledore know about the Dementor," he continued. "Though I'm sure there is nothing he can do. He's petitioned most ardently towards the Ministry, but they won't budge- they're determined to keep the Dementors stationed here as long as possible."

"Alright," I nodded, standing up from my chair. "Thank you, Severus."

He closed his eyes briefly, jaw set in what looked like annoyance, before he stood up also.

"I'll see you tomorrow in class, Persephone." He stated as he opened the door for me and I walked out.

"See ya, Professor." I called over my shoulder.

I had started down the hallway when I heard him call, 'be careful,' softly after me. I hesitated, mid-step, before continuing on my way down the corridor. Snape had always been strangely protective and defensive towards me, and I was happy that I could go to him with anything, even if he didn't give the best advice. He was a good listener, and it was nice to have at least one teacher in this school on my side.

I first started talking to Professor Snape during my first year, after some Gryffindor boy had told me that Lord Voldemort had marked me forever with an evil entity. I got upset and ended up wandering around in the dungeons for a few hours, becoming hopelessly lost. I eventually found myself outside of Snape's office and sank down against the wall opposite his door, crying. He must have heard me because he stepped out, looking irritated, but when he saw me crying his face broke into an expression that I would never forget. It was almost like he was watching the most tragic moment in his life on repeat with the horribly pained expression that overcame him. I could tell that he was somewhat hesitant, but he let me come inside and he made me some tea. I told him what had happened, and he listened. For the first time, an adult actually listened to me, even if he didn't have anything encouraging to tell me afterwards, that was the most intimate connection I had ever had with an older person. I guess I felt he was a fatherly figure, or something, now. I suppose he was the closest thing I'd ever have to a father, which was a depressing fact. He wasn't so bad though, when he wasn't sneering or yelling or making crude comments. And he was there for me, which was more than I could ask for.

* * *

**A/N: **Liked it? Didn't like it? Let me know! :)


	3. Happiness

**A/N: **Okay, third chapter!! Sorry this one took a bit longer to get out... and it's not even as long as the other two :( But I kind of like this chapter, because you can start to see the plot starting to develop... well, at least I can because I know where I want to go with this.

Um, just a quick question for all of my readers/reviewers- Would you guys like me to reply to your reviews through the PM thing? You know, the one that like sends it into your e-mail? Or do you want me to reply to them on each update in the author's note? Cause I know people that do it both ways, and I was just wondering what's preferred.

Also, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this in any part of the story so far, but it's kind of important: Persephone looks exactly like Lily, except for her eyes. She has James' eyes. So they're blue. Kay?

Anyways, enjoy the chapter and thank you for all of your reviews so far!

* * *

The next day, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin wouldn't stop starring at me. It wasn't a creepy kind of stare, just the kind that makes you feel like everything you're doing is being closely watched and scrutinized.

We had disbanded into pairs to work on a new, highly advanced, defensive spell that Lupin had been teaching us. I was working with Draco, but finding it increasingly difficult to focus on my spell with Lupin watching my every move. I eventually messed up so badly on a countercurse that I made Draco's nose bleed.

"Oh Draco!" I moaned as I rushed to his side and cradled his blond head against my arm. "I'm so sorry!"

"Killer aim, Seph." He smirked through the blood pooling around his mouth and I held him a little tighter.

"Parkinson!" Came Professor Lupin's voice from behind me and I turned to find everyone had stalled their own practicing to get a better look at what had happened.

"Yes sir?" Came Pansy's nasally voice as she stepped forward from the group of students.

"I need you to take Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing." He stated as he bent down to examine his nose.

Draco glared up at him. "Why can't Persephone just take me? She's the one that hurt me."

"Exactly." The professor nodded pointedly at me. "Which is why she needs to stay here and practice." He smiled simply and patted Draco's head in a dismissive manner as he stood up to bring order back to his classroom.

Draco opened his mouth to protest again, the blood starting to stain his lips red, but I silenced him.

"Don't worry," I said, smiling reassuringly down at him. "It'll be fine."

He sighed, but nodded in agreement. I placed a hand under his back and put his arm around my shoulders as I helped him stand up.

Pansy was right there, waiting to take Draco away from me as soon as we stood up. She pulled his other arm securely around her own shoulder and wrapped her hand around his waist, looking a little too happy about the situation. She turned her head and gave me a thankful wink just before they disappeared into the hall.

I bent over to pick up my wand then and noticed that everyone had lost interest in their brief interlude since they were back to casting spells at one another again. I searched through the crowd for Milicent, remembering that she was Pansy's partner and figuring that we could work together now.

I found her near the back, looking anxious as she tapped her wand on the palm of her hand.

"Hey Milicent." I smiled as I approached her and she gave a small smile back. "Would you like to work together since both of our partners are gone?"

"Yes, of course!" She exclaimed, and I realized that she must have been anxious because she thought she wouldn't have anyone to practice with.

I did a little better working with Milicent, mostly because Professor Lupin had finally decided to leave me alone and walk around the room to give the students tips. Milicent and I worked well together, and by the end of class we had pretty much mastered our new blocking spells.

When the bell rang, it took me a while to gather up my books and I ended up being the last person left in the classroom. I didn't realize this until I stood up to walk to my next class and the only other person there was Professor Lupin. I smiled uneasily at him and made to dash quickly out of the room before he stopped me.

"Persephone, wait!" He called out, and I froze mid-step.

"What is it Professor?" I questioned, turning to face him as I hugged my school books tight against my chest, like some kind of security blanket.

"Um, well I just wanted to talk to you-"

"Is this about me giving Draco a bloody nose?" I interjected. I already felt embarrassed about the interaction, and now Lupin was going to address it further? Maybe that was why he was starring at me- he thought I was awful with defensive spells. I mean, he did say that he wanted me to stay back for more practice.

He paused for a second, seeming to think to himself before nodding quickly. "Yes, yes- that's exactly what this is about."

"I'm really sorry, Professor! I was just distracted and Draco was doing really well so I felt bad and I don't know!" I exclaimed desperately, not wanting him to know that I had really messed up because of him.

"It's okay, Persephone." He put a hand into the air to silence me. "I was just going to offer you some… extra help in the Dark Arts. Not that you really need it, but a person in your situation could use some additional practice, right?"

"My situation?" I inquired, taking a few steps closer to his desk.

"Oh, uh, yeah. You know, what with you being the local celebrity." He glanced uneasily down at his desk, making me think he was definitely hiding something.

"Nobody at school has ever tried to hurt me." I stated bluntly, giving him a suspicious look.

"Oh, right, well…" he paused and looked up, like he was searching for another excuse. "I heard about that Dementor that almost attacked you."

I looked down at the floor in embarrassment. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, I know a spell that can ward off Dementors." He declared, still looking rather unsure.

"You do?!" I looked hopefully up at him and he broke into a smile, looking triumphant.

"Yeah, I do. And I'd be willing to teach it to you. That and plenty of other things to keep you safe." He placed his hands on his desk and leaned forward with enthusiasm.

I still didn't understand what I needed to be kept safe from, but I didn't want to be caught so defenseless around a Dementor again. "Okay. I'll do it." I smiled and he practically beamed back at me.

"Why don't you come by my office Thursday night and we can start then?" He suggested, looking pleased.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks Professor!" I smiled and readjusted my books in my arms before heading out of class.

* * *

Draco came into Charms class about a half hour late with a note from Madam Pomfrey. I smiled as he came to sit next to me in our usual spot near the back.

"So, was Pansy dreadfully helpful on her quest to escort you to the hospital wing?" I whispered as he opened his book to the chapter we were currently reading in our text books.

He shrugged nonchalantly and rested his head in his hand. "She wasn't so bad."

My mouth dropped open in disbelief, but Draco didn't seem to notice as he starred mundanely down at his book.

"You mean she didn't drive you crazy with her constant flattery and girly talk?" I encouraged, trying to entice some sort of negative reaction out of him. He was never this mellow when it came to Pansy, and it sort of freaked me out.

"Not really, I guess. I mean, she's my friend for a reason- she doesn't bother me all the time."

"That's not what you're usually telling me." I pointed out, poking him roughly in the shoulder.

"What's your deal, Seph?" He questioned somewhat irritably. "She's your friend too, isn't she? Do you _want _me to talk bad about her?"

I was silent for a moment as Draco starred suspiciously at me. "No, of course not!" I hissed, my voice growing louder. "But don't you think it's kind of annoying that she's all over you _all the time_?"

Draco thought for a moment before responding. "Nah. It's actually kind of nice sometimes. To know that someone cares that much."

"Whatever, Draco!" I snapped loudly, causing Flitwick to deduct five points from Slytherin.

I seethed in silence the rest of the hour and tried my hardest to pay as little attention to Draco as possible. As soon as class was over I darted out of the room and made my way to the Astrology tower without giving him a second glance.

I stormed all through the castle and up to the Astronomy tower, not sure what, exactly, I was upset about. All I knew was that that _tart _Pansy apparently annoyed me a little bit more than I had thought.

I was most certainly not in the mood for Professor Sinistra's perpetually cheerful mood today as I trudged into her distractingly dark room. I let my books hit the surface of my desk with a loud thud, causing more than one person to glance in irritation behind them.

I slid quickly into my seat and nearly jumped a foot into the air when someone actually sat in the chair next to me. I didn't know anyone in this class and usually was able to keep an entire desk all to myself in the back.

I turned to my left to find a bushy haired brunette girl sitting there, looking rather nervous. I noticed immediately that she was wearing a red and gold tie and glared uneasily at her, thinking that she must be up to something.

She fidgeted anxiously, obviously feeling my gaze on her, and turned to me after Sinistra had begun her lecture for the day.

"What is your problem?" She whispered, trying to keep her eyes on the teacher and me at the same time.

"What is _your _problem?" I retorted, placing my hands on my desk and leaning towards her in agitation.

"I'm just sitting here," she replied, flipping her text book hastily to some page the Professor had just said. "You're the one trying to glare a hole through the side of my head!"

My eyes narrowed even more. "Don't you usually sit with that red-haired guy? Rod?"

"_Ron,_" she unnecessarily emphasized. "Is sick today, and this was the only empty spot."

"Well that's just great." I mumbled to myself as I slumped back in my chair and folded my arms in irritation.

"We're on page 465." The brunette whispered, eyeing my unopened book.

"I heard her." I retorted, but made no move to open my book. She continued to stare confusedly at me though, so I sighed in aggravation and flipped it open to the appropriate page.

"Happy now?" I hissed. She simply stared at me with her huge brown eyes before turning back to her own book.

"You're not winning any popularity contests here, you know." She whispered as she began to read.

"And who said I was trying to?" I snapped, pretending to read along in my own book.

She shrugged slightly, not moving her eyes. "It just doesn't make any sense to be so rude."

I sighed and laid my palm flat against the sticky page of my text, leaning closer to her. "I'm… sorry," I mumbled very quietly. "I'm just having a bad day, and the last thing I need is a know-it-all Gryffindor telling me the ins and outs of popularity."

"I wasn't trying to-" She started, but I stopped her with a sigh.

"I know, it's my fault." I stated simply, hoping she would just drop the subject so I could go on ignoring her for the rest of the hour.

"No, it's not." She said bluntly, making me glance over at her again. She was smiling slightly at me, almost as a peace offering. "It's the prejudice's fault."

"You mean that ancient Gryffindor vs. Slytherin thing? That had _nothing_ to do with it." I rolled my eyes but smiled back to let her know I was kidding.

"Yes and Professor Sinistra _doesn't _cast a Cheering Charm on herself every day before classes." She commented, and I had to cover my mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

"I thought I was the only one who noticed!" I pursed my lips together in amusement as she shook her head. "It's kind of awful, isn't it?"

She rolled her eyes in agreement and I chuckled again, causing the Professor to politely request for us to keep it down. But that just made us laugh harder.

After we had calmed down, I fidgeted with my stuff awkwardly for a minute, feeling like I should say something more.

"I'm kind of surprised." The girl suddenly spoke up, as if she was just coming out of some sort of trance.

"And why's that?" I inquired, meeting her curious gaze.

"Well, I thought that if I ever tried to talk to you it would end a little differently than this." She confessed.

"I am capable of being civil to Gryffindors." I declared, sounding offended by nature. I saw her give me a cautious glance. "I've just never really tried."

I caught her lips quirk into a smile as I held back my own. Who would have thought it was so easy to talk to a Gryffindor?

I started to say something else but Professor Sinistra told us to be quiet again, this time sounding considerably sterner, so I shut my mouth. This also brought attention to the fact that my new table partner hadn't been taking notes on anything that Sinistra had been saying, so she quickly threw herself into vigorously writing down every little thing she said.

I wrote down a few things that I thought would be important later, but mostly let my mind wander for the rest of the hour. I was grateful that nobody else from Slytherin was in this particular class for once, because I would surely be banned or exiled or Crucioed for having such a normal conversation with a Gryffindor.

When class was over, I gathered my things and was about to walk away from my table when the brunette stopped me.

"My name's Hermione." She supplied, giving me a friendly smile.

I wanted to sneer at her and walk away. I wanted to tell her I didn't care. I wanted to just leave and forget this ever happened.

"It was nice to meet you, Hermione. You're not as bad as I thought a stereotypical Gryffindor would be."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Persephone." She walked past me and I swear I heard her whisper something along the lines of, "There's still hope for you."

* * *

Thursday night after dinner I found myself tapping my wand nervously on the inside of my palm, standing outside of Professor Lupin's office. I reached up a shaky fist and knocked tentatively on the door, not even sure if he'd be able to hear it.

I had a real trust issue with people. That's why I spent a whole ten minutes simply standing outside the Professor's door, debating on whether or not to even show up to this meeting we had agreed on. Who knew what he could really be up to? Snape didn't seem to like or trust him very much, and his opinion weighed heavily in my brain. Why was I willing to blindly agree to something like this when I had only known Lupin for a few months?

Strangely though, some little voice inside my head told me that he was okay. That I should trust him- maybe even more than Snape. I don't know where this came from, but the same thing happened when I thought Professor Lockhart was a phony, so I tended to trust my instincts.

The door swung open to reveal a tired, but pleased looking, Professor Lupin.

"Uh, hi Professor." My voice sounded small as I wrung my hands around my wand.

"Hello, Persephone! Come in." He stepped back and held the door open as I ducked my head down and walked briskly inside.

"Sit down, please." He gestured to the swivel chair across from his desk as he shut his door.

I sat down quickly and starred intently at my hands in my lap, feeling awkward and cursing myself for agreeing to this.

"So, you want to learn how to defend yourself against Dementors?" Professor Lupin started as he leaned against the side of his desk, not bothering to sit down.

"Yes, sir." I nodded and sat up a little straighter.

"Well, there is a spell that can be used, but it is highly advanced magic- well past your year." He explained. "So, I think we should apply the theoretical motivation first, before we actually try it out."

"What do you mean, sir?" I asked, wondering how you can theoretically apply a spell.

"When you cast a Patronus Charm, you're not just saying the words and making it happen. You have to envision something truly powerful and unique in your mind for it to work effectively."

"What do you have to envision, Professor?" I inquired, leaning forward a bit with interest.

"Happiness." Professor Lupin stated, smiling down at my confused expression. "Dementors feed on the dark and depressing thoughts in your mind- this is what draws them to a certain target. When you use the Patronus Charm, you have to fill your entire being with a happiness that cannot be touched or destroyed by them." He clarified as he stood up and began pacing around the back of his desk. "So, in order for the Charm to work, you have to be able to conjure a memory that fills you with absolute happiness."

"…What if I can't think of anything that fills me with happiness?" I nearly whispered, averting my eyes to the ground.

"There must be something, dear." He started, bending down so that he was eye level with me, forcing me to look him in the eyes. "What makes you happier than anything in the world?"

I shook my head slightly and blinked several times. "I don't know." I replied simply, feeling about ready to cry. But Slytherins don't cry. At least not where other people can see them.

"It's okay, Persephone." He soothed, standing back up again. "I guess it's just something you'll have to think about for next week's lesson. Kind of like your homework for the week." He smiled kindly down at me and I nodded apathetically.

"Be sure to think hard about it." He paused for a moment, before continuing almost hesitantly. "And if you can't…I know of something that will help you."

"Really?" I questioned somewhat hopefully.

He nodded and smiled earnestly at me. There was no way to believe Lupin was lying when he smiled so genuinely at you.

"So, I guess that's all for tonight, sorry it was kind of short. I think we'll have a lot to do next week, though." He headed towards his office door and I stood up to follow him.

"Thank you, Professor. For meeting with me tonight." I smiled politely at him as he held open the door and I made my way into the hall.

"It was my pleasure." He stepped into the doorway as he talked. "Now, hurry on back to your dormitory- it's getting late and I'd hate for you to get caught out after hours by Filch."

"Yes, sir. I'll see you tomorrow." I nodded and waved as I made my way back to the Dungeons.

Professor Lupin wasn't that bad, I had decided.

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**A/N: **I hope you liked it! Expect a longer chapter next time, sorry this was a bit shorter. Let me know what you thought in a review! Thanks!!


	4. Gryffindors

**A/N: **Ugh, I'm so sorry it took me a while to get a new chapter out- I've actually had this half way started for a long time, but haven't had the energy lately to finish it. I know it's a bit shorter than the previous chapters, but I felt bad about taking so long so I thought I'd just get it out there for you! :)

I actually really like this chapter, it was fun to write^^

ENJOY!

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On Friday, after classes, I found myself in the Slytherin common room with a very irritating Draco Malfoy. He couldn't seem to go more than three minutes without trying to bug me out of doing my homework and pay more attention to him.

"How was Astrology today?" He drawled as he lied sprawled out at my feet in front of the fireplace.

I shrugged nonchalantly as I dipped my quill into the well I was balancing on my knee. "Boring as ever."

This was a lie. I had actually talked to that Gryffindor, Hermione, again since that Rod kid was still sick. She could be kind of funny when she wanted to, and she was brilliant at remembering all of the astrological phases Neptune went through in a century- which really helped me out on the assignment due Monday.

Draco rolled restlessly onto his back and starred up at the ceiling. "I'm bored." He declared bluntly, glancing up at me.

"I know, Draco. This is only the twelfth time you've told me." I dipped my quill into my ink well and caught a morose look from the blond. I sighed and shook my head.

"Why don't you do your homework? Merlin knows you've got enough to keep you busy." I scratched something down on my parchment, trying my best to concentrate on my assignment.

"I've already finished my homework." He whined, throwing his arms into the air.

My quill paused just above my parchment, ink dripping thick blots onto the paper. "You what?"

"I already finished." He repeated slowly, smirking slightly at the disbelieving look on my face.

"When?" I demanded, discarding my own work on the cushion next to me.

"Yesterday when you mysteriously disappeared after dinner." He waved a hand in front of his face to mimic a disappearing act. "Pansy helped me out." He added, almost as an after thought.

"Pansy?!" I hissed, my hands curling into the edge of the couch.

Draco raised an eye brow at me as he sat up. "Yeah."

I let out a strangled cry and jumped up to storm around the couch.

"Where are you going?!" Draco shouted after me as I made my way to the portrait hole.

"Out!" I yelled back, throwing my hands into the air in frustration.

"What the heck, Perse-" He started, but his voice was cut off by the slam of the portrait closing behind me as I stumbled out into the dungeons.

It was a mark to my outstanding Slytherin skills that I made my way through the dungeons without thinking once about where I was actually going. Though, now that I think about it, I'm not entirely sure how long I was down there. And if you wander around there long enough, you're bound to luck your way out eventually.

When I got to the Grand Staircase I paused for a moment, not entirely sure on where I was planning to go. I glanced up at the giant clock above the entrance to see that it was nearly past curfew, but I didn't really care. I wasn't going back to my commons until I was sure every last person there was asleep. Namely Draco. Though I did wish that I had at least brought my invisibility cloak, so I wouldn't get caught out after hours.

I sighed, and figured that the least likely spot for Filch, or any of the teachers, to go looking for students was the grounds. I glanced quickly around the hall before silently pushing the grand doors open just enough to slip through.

I turned around and let my eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. I had never been out on the grounds at night, so it was kind of difficult to discern where everything was. I could see Hagrid's hut a ways off, the bright light from his tiny, square window standing out in the night. I could definitely make out the Forbidden Forest. The massive line of trees took up a good majority of the scenery, and I shivered. What if some creature came after me from out of there? Nobody would be around to help if they did. I shook the thought away as my eyes came to rest on the lake, reflecting the sliver of a crescent moon in its surface.

I glanced around the grounds again to make sure no teachers were there before jogging across the slightly damp lawn until I came to the shore of the lake. There was a huge boulder that sat just feet from the water, so I settled down it front of it, crossing my legs under me as I leaned against the hard, smooth surface. I leaned my head back to look at the stars, and I had never truly appreciated how isolated Hogwarts was until that moment. Because there were virtually no other humans living near Hogwarts, the sky was crystal clear and not obscured by bright city lights. I could see millions upon millions of stars in the sky, so much so that it made it hard for my eyes to focus on any given point at once.

I don't know how long I sat there, just starring at the stars, willing myself not to think about anything except how entirely small I was compared to the rest of the world. It might not sound reassuring, but it reminded me that my problems were meaningless in the whole scheme of everything else. Whatever my problems really were. Since I still wasn't quite clear on what I was upset about.

I closed my eyes after a long while and rubbed them with my knuckles, trying to stay awake. I wished I had a watch, so I could see what time it was. I brought my eyes back to the lake and starred blankly out at it.

"Maybe I should just provide myself as a snack to the Giant Squid." I whispered, and nearly jumped ten feet in the air when someone answered me back.

"The Squid doesn't really like humans- we tried that once." I jumped up and immediately pulled my wand out of my robes, holding it shakily in front of me.

"Who's there?" I called out in a loud whisper, shaking frantically as I strived to keep calm and remember any spell that I had been taught over the last three years.

"Whoa, calm down!" Another, slightly different, voice called out as they cast a quick lumos.

The spell made my eyes water from the sudden brightness, but at least I could see who was there. Two guys were standing just behind my rock. They had to be twins, and probably just a little older than me. They immediately reminded me of Hermione's friend in astrology- with their bright red hair and freckles.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?!" I struggled slightly with keeping my voice down as I placed a hand over my heart. "Do you have any idea what time it is?!"

"We were going to ask you the same thing." One commented, eye brows raised.

The other one stepped forward and I watched him warily as he cast his own lumos charm and held it closer to me.

"Yeah. What's a little Slytherin girl doing out on the grounds at two in the morning?" He questioned, obviously noticing my green school tie.

"I am not little." I debated, putting my hands on my hips as I glared at them. "What are you guys, Prefects?" I scoffed as I made a quick scan of their robes to make sure they weren't.

"Merlin, no." The one closest to me rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Then what do you want?" I demanded, feeling awfully tired suddenly, especially after realizing that it was two in the morning.

"We were just curious as to why you were out here." The farthest one from me spoke up, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Well, what were you doing here in the first place?" I questioned, casting them a suspicious look.

The one in front of me looked behind him at his brother. "Sometimes when George and I need to think, we come out to the lake."

"And I'm just supposed to believe that, I suppose?" I crossed my arms over my chest as I continued to glare at the two with distrust.

"Yeah. You got a better reason?" George asked as he leaned against my rock.

I paused for a moment as I tried to think, but I was too tired to come up with a good excuse, so I said the first thing that came to my mind. The thing that I was actually doing, I guess.

"I came here… to think." I looked down sheepishly at the ground as they snickered at me. "Okay, okay. So it's not that unbelievable." I threw my arms up in defeat as they continued to laugh.

"What did _you_ come out here to think about?" The red-head in front of me asked as he slid down to the ground and rested his back against my rock.

"I'm not really sure." I rubbed my eyes as I sat on top of the rock. "A lot of nothing, I guess. What about you guys?"

"Fred and I came out because everyone in our dorm room was being incredibly loud, and we couldn't plot our latest scheme with all of them jabbering at us." George explained as he leaned against the opposite side of the rock as his brother.

"Scheme?" I questioned, looking down to raise an eye brow at the top of his head.

"Mhm. That's what we do," Fred started, but a yawn forced him to pause. "Scheme things." He finished, sounding exhausted.

"What house are you in?" I inquired, suddenly curious since neither of them were wearing any house colors.

"Gryffindor." They replied in unison.

I groaned and let my head fall into my hands. "Great, more bloody Gryffindors." I mumbled to myself.

"Hey! Like we really enjoy making company with a sneaking Slytherin." Fred piped up, sounding slightly offended. Stupid Gryffindor's and their stupid pride.

"Take it easy," I rolled my eyes as I rested my elbows on my legs to support my head. "It wasn't meant as an insult, merely an observation."

"Have you been plagued by Gryffindor's lately, or something?" One of them questioned and I nodded before realizing they couldn't see me.

"Yes." I spoke up. "There's this girl in my astrology class named Hermione who's taken to bugging me lately. No idea why."

"Bugging you?" Fred laughed. "I can see why. She even gets on my nerves sometimes, and ickle little Ronnie is the one she spends all her time with."

"Ron? He's in my class too. Are you guys related? You sure look a lot alike." I slurred as my eyes started to droop closed.

"Ugh," George made a gagging noise in the back of his throat. "_Please, _I am so much more attractive than that freckle-faced dolt."

Fred shifted in his spot, making me wake up a bit to look down at him. One of his arms was slung up on the top of the rock as he leaned towards me. "Don't pay attention to him," he whispered to me. "He thinks he's more attractive than me too, and every one knows I got all the looks in the family." He winked and I laughed a little.

"You guys are twins." I whispered dumbly back, fighting to keep my eyes open. It didn't work, though as I swayed on the rock and ended up falling over onto the grass.

"Well _shit,_" I rubbed my head where I had knocked it against the ground and stood up, shaking slightly. "I've got to get back to the castle, or I'm going to fall asleep out here." I mumbled to myself as I spun around, trying to remember my way back to the entrance.

"Just wait right there for a second." George commanded as I swayed dangerously on my feet and almost toppled over again.

Fred and George huddled real close to each other and lit up the tips of their wands as they pulled something out of their robes. They started whispering something together as they leaned in closer, making it impossible for me to hear or see what they were doing. I would have stepped forward and looked over their shoulders, but I was too tired to even have the Slytherin decency to be a snoop.

After a few seconds they nodded and then mumbled some more before George shoved it back into his robes and stood up.

"Okay, we're all clear!" Fred exclaimed cheerfully as stood next to me.

"Now let's help you back to the castle." George stated, looking slightly worried as he suddenly noticed that I barely had the energy to stand.

They each took one of my arms and guided me quickly across the grounds, while I kind of fell asleep as I walked.

The next thing I knew, I was standing outside the entrance to the Slytherin common rooms. I starred at it confusedly for a second before turning to look at Fred and George.

"How did you know how to get here?" I slurred, my eye brows drawing together in thought as I rubbed my head, trying to wake up a bit.

"Lucky guess!" Fred exclaimed, trying to shrug it off nonchalantly. I was going to ask them more, but they began walking away.

"Nice meeting you!" George called over his shoulder.

"Don't fall asleep in the hall!" Fred called, snickering slightly as they made their way briskly down the hall. Definitely not the way a normal Gryffindor would walk through the dungeons. It was almost impossible for most of the _Slytherins_ to know where they were going half the time, yet these two were strolling along like they knew exactly where they were going.

I shook this thought out of my head as I turned around and gave the password. I stumbled awkwardly through the portrait hole, and was very glad that no one was up to see me. I rubbed my eyes as I made my way around the green couch in the middle of the room, only to stop dead in my tracks when I noticed someone sleeping on it. Not just any someone, but Draco.

I stood next to the arm of the couch for a second; barely daring to breathe in case I woke him up. I starred silently down at him, watching as he shifted slightly and his arm fell off the side of the couch to hang limply over the edge. His face looked soft and smooth, and his lips were wet and parted. I blinked my eyes several times as I walked around the couch to kneel beside him. His blond hair was incredibly messy at the moment, something you didn't normally see, but it looked good. It looked more _natural_. His right hand was curled up on his chest, almost gripping at the collar of his shirt. His eyelids fluttered slightly, and I found myself wondering what he was dreaming about. I brought my hand up slowly to brush some of the hair away from his eyes and a small smile graced his lips as he shifted towards my touch. I froze, my eyes growing wide as the hand that had flopped off the couch grabbed loosely at my robes. I brought my hands down to his and gently pried it away.

"Draco." I whispered, shaking his shoulder slightly.

"Mmmphf?" He murmured, wriggling slightly on the couch.

"Draco, wake up." I demanded, shaking his shoulder a little harder.

"Wha? Wha's goin' on?" He slurred incoherently as his eyes inched open.

"You fell asleep in the common room." I explained, smiling softly down at him.

"In the- where?" He rubbed his eyes roughly as sat up a bit, scooting back to rest against the arm of the couch.

"The common room, Draco. You know, that big room with the fireplace and comfy chairs that you like so much?" I snickered slightly at the annoyed look on his face.

"I know what it is." He snapped, but it didn't hold quite as much venom as usual through his sleepiness.

"Okay, okay." I held up my hands in mock surrender as he continued to glare at me. Was he upset with me, or just too tired to realize what he was doing? "Do you want some help to your dorm?"

"No." He slapped my hand away that I'd reached up to curl around his shoulders. "Definitely not." He muttered as he shoved himself off the couch and stumbled slightly, almost falling back onto it.

"Are you sure?" I questioned skeptically as he swayed dangerously on the spot, rubbing his eyes again. He looked so tired and vulnerable right then- nothing like the Draco I had known for nearly three years. It made me want to latch onto him and never let him go.

I felt myself sink with disappointment as he shook his head determinedly and walked, slightly shakily, in the direction of the boy's dorms. I sighed heavily and flopped myself onto the couch, burying my head into the cushions and curling up into a ball. I felt like someone had just punched me in the stomach, and I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to lay there forever and never have to look at anyone again. Especially Draco.

What could I have done to upset him? I mean, yeah I was gone for a while tonight, but that was none of his business- I hadn't done anything to upset him directly.

I thought for a long time with my face shoved uncomfortably into the couch, until I finally fell asleep, with only one true fact decided. Draco was adorable when he slept. And _maybe_ I should look into some Gryffindor repellent next time I went to Hogsmead.

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**A/N: **Comments? Concerns? Questions? Let me know! :)

I love you all and hope you don't hate me for taking forever to update!!


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